Writer and puzzle game designer
Laura E. Hall
is an American
immersive artist
,
puzzle
game designer, and writer. She has written several books about video games, immersive entertainment, and
escape rooms
.
Hall co-created one of the first escape rooms in the United States. In 2022, Hall was the subject of a documentary about solving an
alternate reality game
puzzle 14 years after it was set, called
Finding Satoshi
("
"謎の日本人サトシ"
").
[1]
Puzzles
[
edit
]
Hall began participating in
alternate reality games
in college, and played
Perplex City
. She became invested in puzzles after moving to Portland and attending
Puzzled Pint
events.
[2]
After Perplex City's completion in 2007, Hall continued to work on a puzzle that was still unsolved,
Billion to One
. The puzzle focused on exploring the concept of
Six degrees of separation
by presenting a man's photograph and his first name, "Satoshi", asking players to locate him. In 2020, Tom-Lucas Sager used image recognition software and located Satoshi, reporting it to Hall, who ran the website tracking information about the hunt.
[3]
In 2022, Hall was the subject of a documentary about the
Billion to One
puzzle,
Finding Satoshi
.
[4]
Installation Art and Game Design
[
edit
]
In 2014, Hall and five friends opened the first escape room game in the state of Oregon
[5]
and one of the first 22 escape rooms in the United States.
[6]
[7]
She has since created escape rooms and immersive experiences around the United States
[8]
and the world.
[9]
Her installation art and games have appeared in the
Portland Art Museum
,
[10]
XOXO
,
[11]
and the
London Games Festival
.
[12]
Writing
[
edit
]
Hall writes about films, games, and culture for
Letterboxd
,
[13]
Dan and Dave
’s
Art of Play
,
[14]
A Profound Waste of Time
,
[15]
and
The Atlantic
.
[16]
Katamari Damacy
(2018)
[
edit
]
In 2018, Hall published
Katamari Damacy
with
Boss Fight Books
about the creation of the 2004 video game
Katamari Damacy
, featuring interviews with creator
Keita Takahashi
.
[17]
Planning Your Escape
(2021)
[
edit
]
In 2021, Hall published
Planning Your Escape: Strategy Secrets to Make You an Escape Room Superstar
with
Simon & Schuster
, about the history of the immersive entertainment genre and a toolkit for new escape room players.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Barthelemy, Laurent (director), Dafoe, Willem (narrator) (28 February 2022).
謎の日本人サトシ~世界が熱狂した人探しゲ?ム~
[
Finding Satoshi
] (documentary) (in Japanese and English). NHK.
- ^
a
b
Brown, Andy (30 October 2021).
"Laura E. Hall on how escape rooms are more like video games than you'd expect"
.
NME
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
"A mystery cube, a secret identity, and a puzzle solved after 15 years"
.
Wired UK
.
- ^
"Finding Satoshi"
.
IMDB
. Mt. MELVIL. 28 January 2022
. Retrieved
14 September
2022
.
- ^
Hale, Jamie (2014-10-25).
"Escape games come to Portland: 60 Minutes to Escape offers an interactive puzzle adventure"
.
The Oregonian
. Retrieved
4 February
2022
.
- ^
June, Sophia (21 July 2021).
"Laura Hall Created Portland's First Escape Room. Now She's Literally Written the Book on Them"
.
Willamette Week
. Retrieved
4 February
2022
.
- ^
Spira, Lisa (26 June 2016).
"Two Years of Room Escapes: The Growth of the US Market"
. Retrieved
4 February
2022
.
- ^
Diehl, Caleb (21 December 2017).
"Power Gamer: Laura Hall"
.
Oregon Business
. Retrieved
4 February
2022
.
- ^
Kunkel, Leigh (1 October 2019). "Mind Games".
American Way
.
- ^
Coleman, Ben.
"Laura E. Hall, Escape Artist"
.
Portland Mercury
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
D'Cruz, Andrew (13 June 2016).
"This Shared Portland Office Could Save Our Souls (and Our Wallets)"
.
Portland Monthly
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
"2017 Festival"
.
Now Play This
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
Hall, Laura E. (1 January 2022).
"Dating the Movies: A Calendar of Film Moments ? Journal ? A Letterboxd Magazine"
.
letterboxd.com
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
"The Art of Escape Rooms: Six Strategies for Success"
.
Art of Play
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.
- ^
"A Profound Waste of Time magazine Issue 2"
. Retrieved
February 4,
2022
.
- ^
Hall, Laura E. (13 July 2014).
"What Happens When Digital Cities Are Abandoned?"
.
The Atlantic
. Retrieved
February 4,
2022
.
- ^
Hall, L. E. (17 October 2018).
"Katamari Damacy's Creator Had To Move Mountains To Get His Game Made"
.
Kotaku
. Retrieved
16 September
2022
.